Twins sign middle infielders Schoop, Torreyes

MINNEAPOLIS — The Twins shored up their middle infield with a pair of moves on Thursday, as they signed second baseman Jonathan Schoop and utility infielder Ronald Torreyes to one-year deals.

Schoop’s deal is for $7.5 million.

MINNEAPOLIS — The Twins shored up their middle infield with a pair of moves on Thursday, as they signed second baseman Jonathan Schoop and utility infielder Ronald Torreyes to one-year deals.

Schoop’s deal is for $7.5 million.

Schoop and Torreyes figure to try to fill the holes left by Brian Dozier and Eduardo Escobar, who were traded at this year’s non-waiver Trade Deadline. Schoop profiles similar to Dozier as a power-hitting second baseman with solid defense, while Torreyes is a better defender than Escobar but doesn’t have his extra-base power.

Schoop, 27, was non-tendered by the Brewers on Friday, but has power, especially for a second baseman. Schoop had a career year in 2017, slashing .293/.338/.503 with 32 homers and 105 RBIs in 160 games with the Orioles. But he had a bit of a down year in ’18, slashing a combined .233/.266/.416 with 21 homers and 61 RBIs in 131 games with Baltimore and Milwaukee. He also went hitless in eight postseason at-bats.

Advanced metrics paint Schoop as an above-average defender at second where he can pair with shortstop Jorge Polanco as a double-play combo. He’s a career .258/.294/.444 hitter with 110 homers, 130 doubles and 333 RBIs in 681 games over parts of six seasons.

Torreyes, meanwhile, was also non-tendered on Friday, as he was traded from the Yankees to the Cubs last week but was still ultimately not tendered a contract by Chicago. The Twins have been busy signing non-tendered players, as they also claimed C.J. Cron, who wasn’t tendered a contract with the Rays despite hitting 30 homers last season.

Torreyes, 26, slashed .280/.294/.370 with seven doubles and seven RBIs in 41 games with New York last season. He’s hit .281/.310/.375 with four homers, 30 doubles and 56 RBIs in 229 games with the Dodgers and Yankees over parts of four seasons in the Majors. He has experience at second base, shortstop and third base. He’s expected to back up fellow utility infielder Ehire Adrianza.

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